The Devil and Ike Turner

Ike Turner's a tough character to fit neatly into a category. He's a Delta bluesman to some, a rock pioneer to others. And you can't deny, particularly in his Ike-and-Tina days, that there's a healthy dose of soul in there, too.

After Ike passed away back in early December, Slate ran this brilliant, speculative obituary, in which author Donald Fagen wonders what our protagonist might have asked for, in exchange for his soul, at that famous Delta crossroads.

Here's my own, much shorter, obit for Ike Turner.